The British Virgin Islands are paradise found. Brimming with Caribbean flavour in food, music and culture, the modesty of the island resorts nevertheless have something of a traditional English understatement about them. But it's a place where the natural beauty speaks for itself with spectacular underwater world for snorkellers and divers and miles of unspoilt beaches for landlubbers.

Tortola lies at the heart of the islands, boasting spectacular beaches and great facilities for wining, dining and strutting your stuff till the early hours. Its capital, Road Town is a bustling hub for the fishing boats and cruise ships coming and going in the harbour and the throng of people wandering through its labyrinthine streets.

The majority of the restaurants and shops catering for the thriving tourist trade are located along brightly coloured Main Street and the more touristy drag along Waterfront Drive. The town also boasts a folk museum to you up to speed on the island's culture and history and a botanic garden with enough flora to overwhelm your senses.

Head to the north coast for to top up your tan on one of the picture-perfect beaches before heading off to one of the lively bars to lubricate your liver until the first rays of sunlight start illuminating the waters of the Caribbean sea.

Those with a penchant for surfing should head to the less developed eastern coast with its peaceful yet luxurious beaches, particularly Josiah's Bay Beach with its rolling waves. The ruins of the Josiah's Bay Plantation also make for an interesting detour if you can drag yourself off the beach. For a 360 degree view of Tortola's mountain scenery, head to Mount Healthy National Park. Those after a birds eye view can get their heart rate going with a trek up Sage Mountain on the west of the island.

Peaceful to the point of seeming deserted, Virgin Gorda offers great mountainous scenery for climbing in its middle with fantastic beaches around the edge. Nature has designated the south western end of the island as a natural playground and a fairly surreal photo opportunity with The Baths, a collection of gigantic volcanic boulders strewn across the brilliantly white sandy shore. When the tide comes in the caves and pools fill up with water and the area comes alive with snokellers acquainting themselves with an underwater world.

Diving enthusiasts can see first hand the wreck of the RMS Rhone which lies near Salt Island, famed for being the Caribbean's number one wreck dive. The 310-foot British mail steamer and passenger ship is still well preserved in its watery grave enlivened somewhat by the large schools of fish and other marine creatures which have made it their home.

If you like your islands a bit more remote then head to Anegada, a flat coral and limestone island just eight metres above sea level. Horseshoe Reef, the third largest in the world stretches some 11 kilometres to the south east of the island with hundreds of shipwrecks for more adventurous divers. The island is also prized for its lobster and some of the best bonefishing in the world.

Its pristine beaches may seem like paradise on earth to humans but they're also intended to be kept that way for the many turtles, flamingo, osprey and the endangered rock iguanas who call the island home – hence why the whole island is a wildlife sanctuary with carefully monitored reserves.

The unlikely party capital of the British Virgin Islands goes to Jost Van Dyke, a tiny mountainous island some 3 three kilometres from Tortola which only got electricity ten years ago. But the combination of local charm, raw natural beauty and famous drinking holes - the Soggy Dollar Bar and Foxy's has given the island a magnetic draw of a traveller meets local community.

The British Virgin Islands offer a breathtaking natural beauty which is sadly lacking in so many other developed resorts. It may not have the glitz and glamour of St Lucia but for those looking for a paradise island, it is nigh on unbeatable.